By David Winn, M.D., FAAFP November 2012 – EDITOR’S NOTE: In light of the recent presidential election results, we are re-running David Winn’s article from the eve of the 2010 mid-term elections. Much has happened since then, and much remains the same. Some of Dr. Winn’s opinions are as equally deserving of discussion now as… Read more »

by Jim Gibson October 2012 – There’s nothing like an industry in utter turmoil to create opportunities for entrepreneurs. Turmoil doesn’t adequately describe health IT today and, as we read every day in the trade press and blogs, many health IT companies are doing quite well. Some even have the enviable challenge of managing hyper-growth…. Read more »

by David A. Jones, Jr. September 2012 – When the 900-page-plus Affordable Care Act (ACA) was enacted in March 2010, my first reaction was simple relief that the exhausting, incoherent, multi-year political spectacle had finally ended. My second was that implementation of this committee-bred camel, representing the largest health system overhaul since the 1960s, would… Read more »

by Donald Jones August 2012 – 860 million people worldwide have at least one chronic disease.1  10,000 people in this country turn 65 each day and most have at least one chronic disease.2  In the US, health care is nearly a 3 trillion dollar industry, comprising close to 18% of the national GDP, and up… Read more »

by Kym S. Wambold July 2012 – I just returned from my third healthcare conference in 12 months and must admit I am increasingly surprised by the lack of discussion around “Sleep Health” in general and Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) in particular. I recognize that managing chronic conditions, such as diabetes and heart disease, and… Read more »

by Alexandra Drane June 2012 -Every generation has its legacy – whether it’s toppling dictators, championing civil rights, or changing attitudes around sex, drugs, and rock & roll. These formative events tend to imprint a person’s attitudes for life – thus shaping generational profiles. Consumer advertising, of course, has generational tailoring down to a science,… Read more »

Author’s Note: Although this article deals with healthcare, it’s a departure from our usual presentation. Rather than a healthcare or health IT topic that is, in essence, a business issue, this month it’s personal. The story is mine, and I debated whether to write it. But if it moves just one reader to action, I’ve… Read more »

by Mark Blatt, M.D. April 2012 – The simple truth about healthcare in the US is that the product the industry offers is too expensive for anyone to actually afford. Healthcare has been unaffordable for individuals for a long time. More recently, healthcare costs are threatening to bankrupt not only large self-funded corporations, but also… Read more »

by Richard Toren March 2012 -The Affordable Care Act has had a tectonic change effect across all segments of healthcare. Hospitals have become “health systems” through acquisitions of other hospitals, absorption of physician practices, and movements to accept total risk as if they were insurance companies. At the same time, there have been wholesale purchases… Read more »

by David Guy February 2012 – As the ARRA act incentivizes physicians to jettison paper files in favor of electronic records, integrating analog patient data to a digital ecosystem is prohibitive and problematic. Traditionally, medical device companies have focused on the device, and healthcare IT has focused on the data. Little work has been done… Read more »